1. Field
This application relates to the sparkplug of an internal combustion engine, and more particularly, to the efficiency of the spark ability, of that sparkplug.
This application also relates to the manufacture and assembly, of that sparkplug.
2. Prior Art
In a 4 cycle internal combustion engine, the cycles are, starting at top dead center; this means that the piston is all the way at the top of the cylinder at the start of the cycle. The piston moves downward and the intake valve opens letting the air fuel mixture into the firing chamber, this is the intake cycle. When the piston reaches bottom dead center, the intake valve closes, and the piston moves up compressing the air fuel mixture, this is the compression cycle, and this creates a very fast moving wind storm type environment. When the piston reaches top dead center, the sparkplug will fire causing the compressed air fuel mixture to explode and force the piston downward, this is the power cycle. This is where the fuel is actually turned to kinetic energy that causes the internal combustion engine to operate. When the piston reaches bottom dead center, the exhaust valve will open and the piston will move upward and force the burnt air fuel mixture out of the firing chamber, which is 1 revolution of the internal combustion engine. 1 revolution happens, from 800 to over 10,000 times a minute this is called revolutions per minute or RPM'S.
The sparkplug will receive an electric charge of energy from the coil of the distributor system; this is called electro motive force this will cause the positive electrode to be energized with tens of thousands of volts. At that moment it tries to ionize a pathway to ground so as to let the electrons, from the ground, flow to the positive electrode, that flow of electrons is the spark.
Now do to the wind storm effect in the combustion chamber environment, the ionization of the pathway is impeded greatly do to the fact that the fast moving air fuel mixture blows the ionized path out and away from the ground. This happens several times before the pathway is finally established and the electrons can flow through the ionization path like electricity flows through a wire. This happens in less than 0.001 of a second.
The standard sparkplugs generally have a relatively small positive electrode and very little ground area, or multiple points of spark potential area for the ionization of the pathway to choose from. The ground prong is generally welded to the shell and protrudes up and over the positive electrode.
There have been many ideas to address these problems, ranging from good, but not complete, to poorly designed and manufactured. One idea is the U.S. Pat. No. 6,628,049, and the U.S. Pat. No. 6,608,430 these are basically the same plug and are a variation of the U.S. Pat. No. 1,610,032 of 1926, there is the multiple, but small points of spark potential area, and extended reach with the ring but the spark is still happening under the cap between the points and ground ring, vertical to the center line of the sparkplug, and if all the points, or spark potential areas are not the exact physical distance apart, this will impede the establishment of the ionization path as well. There are many that address the rapidly moving air fuel mixture, by using port holes in the extension ring.
Other ideas address the spark potential area like the U.S. Pat. No. 5,731,655 but have no way of guiding the flow of the air fuel mixture in the direction that the spark is, and the spark is under the disk vertical to the center line of the sparkplug, as well.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,958,144 of 1976 shows ground configurations, that have some variations of porting and have the spark at the top of the plug but some of these look arbitrary and would do little to direct the flow in the direction of the spark, and again if the distances of the spark potential area isn't exact it will impede the spark.
It is therefore an object of the preferred embodiments to increase the spark ability of the sparkplug by giving it more spark potential area, and/or, points of spark, that are the exact physical distance.
It is another object of the preferred embodiments to direct the rapidly moving air fuel mixture to flow in the direction away from the positive electrode so as to have greater possibility of ionization. The rapidly moving air fuel mixture will help push the ionization in the direction of the ground, instead of impeding it.
It is an object of the application to disclose the method of manufacture and assembly to make the spark potential area, less than 0.0005 of an inch, respectively to one another, and to precisely set the gaps. This is to ensure that the spark gaps are equal in physical distance, and set to the size that is required for a specific application.